Pets

On this day last year, my dog Licorice passed away. She was 16 at the time and would have turned 17 in February 2011. Now if you remember a few months ago I had posted about having to put down my dog Moby in September of last year as well (and yes these were the saddest holidays I’ve ever experienced). His death was from out of the blue, whereas Licorice’s passing was something for which I had been preparing for years. Given her advanced age and some previous (and current) health scares, her death wasn’t that much of a shock. But that didn’t make it any less painful. After all, this was the longest relationship that I’ve had with another living thing aside from family.

I was living in Gainesville, Fl when I rescued her. I just fell in love with her gigantic bat ears; she later grew into those. She was black lab mix with a barrel chest, skinny legs, and pointy ears. Definitely an odd duck for a lab. But she was a sweetie, unless you tried to mess with her food. Moby learned that lesson quickly.

Happy Sweet Sixteen!

Towards the end, her health started to fail. There was a big scare when she was about 13 when she couldn’t move, spewed out fluid from both ends, and couldn’t eat a thing. It lasted over a week and I was at the point where if I didn’t see any improvement, I would have to really consider the worst. At the time she was on so many meds and I was up pretty much every hour administering some kind of medication. Eventually I worked out a medication schedule that also included flipping her on her opposite side, changing / washing her bedding 3 or 4 times a day, and cleaning her as best as I could. But she made it through and lasted a few more years.

The last few months of her life became more of a struggle. She wasn’t able to walk around on her own; only her front legs had any kind of strength. Also, she had started to get some skin infections and problems with discharge from her eyes. Her weight dropped and her breathing became more labored. Not the best quality of life.

Daisy and Licorice want some cake!

But there are lots of happy memories, with birthdays being some of those memories. This is from her Sweet Sixteen. I couldn’t afford to buy her a car, but she got a cake baked with love! Thankfully Licorice, Moby, and Daisy all got a chance to take part in the celebration. This was taken from Food, Fun, and Facts. For a little added treat, I added a cream cheese frosting and some gummi bears. It was her Sweet Sixteen, after all so I thought a little extra treat was in order. Here’s what you need:

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. In another combine the remaining ingredients. Add the flour combination and mix quickly.

3. Transfer to prepared mold and bake for 30 – 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a serving plate.

Notes — serving suggestion is to frost it with some cottage cheese and top it with some carrot pieces. . . like I mentioned earlier, I frosted this one with a cream cheese frosting and topped it with some gummi bears.

This time last year was the start of a very sad period in the household. After a very quick, very sudden, very severe illness, one of my dogs named Moby had to be put to sleep. He was 10 years old, but he definitely didn’t act like a senior dog. He was always active; he’d chase squirrels all day in the backyard if you let him. Which made it that much more difficult. One day, he’s running around chasing leaves, two days later he’s gone.

He was rescued from a shelter in Mason, MI where I found him sitting in his own filth. Sitting at the front of his pen, his face was just pressed against the gate, and he was just looking down at the ground. All the other dogs in the place were barking and yelping for attention, all except for him. He clearly was not used to being in a place like that. So how could I turn away the saddest puppy in the place who was covered in his own crap? Of course, he would celebrate his new freedom by throwing up into the middle console of my truck on the drive home.

Moby didn't like Daisy at first, but they worked it out eventually.

He was a member of the family for over 10 years and I wasn’t ready for him to go. I had spent years trying to prepare for when Licorice, who was the elder dog at the time, would pass away (Licorice died later on in the year on December 13 at the age of 16, so my holidays just plain sucked last year). But this wasn’t supposed to happen to Moby. That was definitely a horrible day for us. I was at the vet for hours listening to him howl in pain; even morphine couldn’t ease his suffering. So on September 27th of last year, we said goodbye to our little buddy. I was a mess for months; even know I can’t help but get emotional as I’m writing this. What made things even worse, I ended up forgetting Daisy’s 1st birthday which happened to be two days later on the 29th.

As is a tradition in this house, all the puppies get a special cake or meal on their birthday. I know that they probably have no clue as to what’s going on, but it’s important to me to celebrate it. So this year we’re making sure to celebrate Daisy’s 2nd birthday with one of Moby’s favorites.

This recipe for the “Very Berry Drooly Dreams” cupcakes was taken from the Three Dog Bakery cookbook. This cookbook is actually a very good resource if you do like to bake goodies for your furry friends since it contains a nice list of non-dog-friendly ingredients. I’m sure everyone knows about chocolate and onions being toxic to dogs, but did you know that macadamia nuts could have adverse effects on the digestive and nervous systems of your pooch? Grapes / raisins also contain toxins that could damage the kidneys if eaten in sufficient amounts. Just a couple of facts that might be useful for folks out there. Anyhoo, here’s what you need:

2. In a large bowl stir together the flour, oats, and baking powder. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil and honey. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and milk. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the berries.

3. Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake for 30 minutes until a tester comes out clean.

4. Cool on a rack until room temperature before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can freeze them, where they can keep for a couple of months. Just thaw before serving.